The body of Permanent Secretaries (PS) in the Abia State Public Service have lamented the plight of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the state, urging support from various stakeholders.
  
Speaking during a workshop themed ‘Capacity Building for Permanent Secretaries on the Abia State Disability Law and Disability Inclusive Governance’ in Umuahia, they empathised with the PWDs, admitting ignorance of the implications of their conditions, and vowing to use their offices to address them.
  
The workshop was organised by the Abia State Disability Commission for the Welfare of  Disabled Persons to familarise the PS with the provisions of the Abia State Disability Law and Disability Inclusion, including the implementation of this law by the top public servants in the state.
  
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power and Public Utilities, Mrs Nwanyieze Utum, noted that the workshop informed them on key issues of disability they were oblivious of.
  
“Before this programme, we were not well-informed on the activities of PWDs; but being part of this workshop has exposed us to better understand their plight,” she said.
  
Utum stated that the PS,  now equipped with the knowledge of the law and its provisions, were ready to address PWDs issues and include them in the activities of their ministries/departments.
  
Chairman of the organising commission,  David Anyaele, who is also the Special Assistant to Governor Alex Otti on Disability Matters, said: “The objectives of the training are to enhance the ability of the PS to make informed, data-driven decisions that benefit the disability community, and  build their capacity to develop, implement and monitor policies and programmes that benefit them.”
  
Anyaele recalled that a similar workshop had been organised for the state’s 17 council chairmen.He described permanent secretaries as key officials responsible for driving governance across the board. 
  
“We believe that if the permanent secretaries are involved in this process, it will go a long way in ensuring an inclusive Abia that is free from discrimination against  the rights of PWDs.
  
“We are building the capacity of permanent secretaries to make it easier for them to generate policies that will support their ministries based on specific mandates. If awareness is created but the key drivers of government policies and programmes are not well guided and informed, they can’t act accordingly,” he said.
 
Topics discussed during the workshop held at Rhapha Hotel Conference Room included Understanding Disability Issues, Introduction to Abia State Disability Law, and Disability Inclusive Budget. There were group work sessions, as well as question and answer sessions.